Hair curling machine



June 16, 1931. LA. CARTER 1,809,961

HAIR CURLING MACHINE Filed June 24, 1929 a WW Q1 TO RNE Ks Patented June 1 6, 1931 teaser rare it i LIONEL A. CARTER, OF WEBSTER- GEQVES, MISSOURI, ASSIG-NOR TO KOKEN COlVL PANIES, OF ST. LOUIS, A CORPQRATEON OF DELAWARE Earn CUBLING MACHINE Application filed. June 24,

This invention relates to hair curlers or wavers of the type which consists of a memberthat is adapted to serve as a mandrel or core for a strand of hair that is coiled or Wrapped around said. member while said strand is being subjected to heat or to other treatment which tends to cause said strand to remain in a'curled condition after it is removed from the mandrel. Conventional hair curlers or wavers of this general type *are usually composed of an outer member of tubular form around which the strand of hair is wrapped, and an inner member rotatably mounted in the tubular member and adapted to be connected to one end of the strand, and thereafter, turned or rotated so as to cause the strand to be coiled or wrapped tightly around the tubular outer member. One serious objection to such a hair curler or waver is that it has a tendency to subject the strand of hair to an unequal tension, due to the fact that the strand is tightened by exerting an endwise pull on one end of the strand.

The main object of my invention is to provide an inexpensive hair curler or waver of simple design, which is of such construction that after a strand of hair has been wrapped or coiled around the same, the portionof the device that serves as a core or mandrel for the strand of hair can be expanded or distended uniformly throughout its entire length by means of an eXpansible medium or a medium under pressure, so as to increase the tension on said strand and maintain each coil of the strand under substantially the same tension.

To this end I have devised a hair curler or waver, which briefly described, consists of 4 a hollow member constructed of resilient or elastic impervious material and having provision for permitting an expansiblemedium or a medium under pressure to be introduced into same so as to expand or distend said member. The particular shape and details of construction of said member are immate rial, and various mediums may be used to expand or distend said member so as to increase the tension on the strand of hair that is coiled around the same. Said member curler or waver embodying my invention,

arranged in operative relationship with the heating device of an apparatus that is used to curl womens hair, so as to produce what is commonly referred to as a permanent wave; and

Figure 2 is a section on the line 22 of Figure 1. I v

In the drawings, A designates my improved hair curler or wave'rwhich consists of a tubular member formed of elasticor resilient impervious material, constructed in such a way that an expansible medium or a medium under pressure can be introduced into the same after a strand of hair hasbeen wound or coiled aroundsaid member, so as to draw said strand. taut and hold it under a substantially uniform tension throughout its entire length while said strand'is being heated or subjected to other treatment. One end ofthe member A is closed, and the opposite end of said member is provided with a pump connection 1 that is equipped with a valve 2 for confining the medium that is in troduced into the member A to expand or 1 distend thesame. J I o e In using the device to produce aopermanente wave, a strand of hair mis wrapped twice or coiled snugly around themember A and secured-by pieces of string 3 or any other suitable means that will prevent said strand from uncoiling, and an eXpa-nsible medium,-such, for example, as compressed air, is then introduced into the member A, so as to increase the cross-sectional diameter of said member, and thus cause the strand of hairm to be drawn taut and maintained under a substantially uniform tension throughout its entire length, due, of course, to the fact that the increase in tension is obtained by'simultaneouslyincreasing the diameter of the adjacent sections of the member A around which the respective coils of the strand are wrapped. Preferably, the inflating valve in the member A is of such design that when the nip ale i of an air hose 5 or other inflating device is applied to the pump connection 1, the valve 2 will unseat, and thus permit the eXpansible medium to flow freely into the member A from the source of supply, and when said nipple is removed from or disengaged from the pump connec tion, the valve 2 will seat automatically, and thus prevent the expansible medium from escaping from the member A. When it is desired to decrease the diameter of the mei ber- A, preparatory to removing said member from the coiled strand, it is only necessary to press inwardly on the stem of the valve 2, so as to permit the operating medium to escape from said member. As shown in the drawings, a moistening pad or piece of fabric 6 is wrapped around the coiled strand of hair on the member A prior to the operation of introducing said coiled strand into the heater B or other means that is used to treat said strand.

The member A can be conveniently formed from a piece of tubing constructed of rubber, or from rubber combined with fabric, but it is, of course, immaterial from what substance the member A is constructed so long as it has sufficient resiliency to permit the cross-sectional diameter of said member to be increased by introducing an expansible medium or a medium under pressure into same.

Ahair curler or waver of the kind above described is inexpensive to manufacture; it is convenient to use; it can be expanded quickly and uniformly simply by inserting the nipple of an inflating device in one end of the member A; it is sufficiently elastic or resilient to insure the coils of the strand embracing the member A snugly, even before the operating medium is introduced into said member; and it holds the strand of hair under a substantially uniform tension throughout its entire length, thereby insuring curls of uniform size and appearance.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A hair curler or waver consisting of a hollow member constructed of elastic material on which a strand. of hair is adapted to be wound, said member having provision for permitting an expansible gaseous medium under pressure to be introduced into said member so as to increase the diameter of same and thereby increase the tension on said strand.

2. A hair curler or waver consisting of a tubular member constructed of elastic material and provided with means for permitting an operating medium under pressure to be introduced into the same so as to expand said member. 7

3. A hair curler 0r waver consisting of an inflatable member on which a strand of hair is adapted to be maintained in a coiled condition while said strand is being treated said member being adapted to be distended by admitting a gaseous medium to the interior of same.

f. A hair curler or waver consisting of an inflatable member around which a strand of hair is adapted to be wrapped, and a pneumatic means for distending said member so as to cause the tension on the respective coils of said strand to be increased simultaneously and maintained under a substantially uniform tension.

5. A hair curler or waver consisting of an eXpansible tubular member around which a strand of hair is adapted to be wound or coiled, one end of said member being closed, and a valve in the opposite end of said member by which an operating medium under pressure may be admitted to or exhausted from said member.

6. A hair curling or waving apparatus, comprising a hollow expansible member around which a strand of hair is adapted to be wrapped or coiled, said member being constructed of elastic material, and a device adapted to be detachably connected with said member for introducing a medium under pressure into same so as to inflate saidmember and thus distend the portions of said member surrounded by the coils of the strand.

LIONEL A. CARTER. 

